Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Johnn]

My light sussex had eggs that exploded, worse thing was one of them exploded in her face!

 

[Tripp16]

All this talk of exploding eggs is nasty! I can almost smell them through my Computer!! Lol

No more broodies yet I have been taking my barred rock hens eggs and replacing them with golf balls for about 2 weeks now she screeches and all even with a empty nest! Hopefully she will go eventually.

Also my BO went in the nest twice today doing the broody cluck but laid an egg did the egg song got out came back up and got back but didnt stay long at all. We are getting closer!! LOL

I just have to wait on my silkie girls to start laying so I know they will be broody crazy! Hopefully!

Good luck to everyones broodys and chicks!

 

[Atomic Ranch]

Awwwhhhh - so cute! Love the pretty momma too!

Thank you! Well, I opened the nest boxes back up and they came down into the main coop-- the fuzzy on its own, down the ramp. Many of the other gals aren't paying them much mind at the moment. One of the RIRs did take a couple of pecks and challenged momma... a BIG chicken fight ensued... and the RIR got her bum kicked (no injuries). Funny, as one of the WLs decided to give the RIR a bit of a shove afterward as well. I hope this is the last of it, though many are still outside taking dirt baths in the sun and haven't come in. Momma is significantly bigger than the others, so that's probably good! Baby can hide under the ramp if necessary, and there are mini feed/waterers.

Question: Momma usually sleeps perched, though. Will she stay on the floor with baby?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Update / Photo: The wee Cochin/Delaware is doing well. The fuzzy seems to be able to motor around quickly and is becoming curious about the rest of the "chickeniverse", so I'm going to open the brooder today and see how it goes. The WL egg didn't make it, but at least I've got this!

What a sweet pic.

 

[This_chicks_place]

We lost an egg today

I found the shell with about 1/3 of the fat end eaten off just outside the door of the broody house. There was a little yolk left in it. At 6 days it would have had something to see if it was fertile, wouldn't it?

The gooey bits were in the broody house just outside the nest but just inside the door. Hermione had been out for a few mealworms from a dish immediately outside the broody house.

The only thing I can think is that maybe the egg got cracked when she moved, so she ate it. She's never done it before, though!

But if there had been a predator...rat, crow, magpie, I would have heard something! Also it would have taken some time to eat it.

Have been watching all afternoon...Hermione seems quite happy and is looking after her eggies. One of the blue ones was poking out a little while ago and when I came back she had tucked it in nicely

sorry to hear that. We had a cracked egg yesterday also. I think one of the other hens tried to join her to lay an egg and in the scuffle one got cracked. I opened it up and it wasn't growing anyway, so not much of a loss. I hope the others are all fine. I will candle tonite maybe....day 10, so we'll see.

 

[bobbieschicks]

Quote:

Thank you! Well, I opened the nest boxes back up and they came down into the main coop-- the fuzzy on its own, down the ramp. Many of the other gals aren't paying them much mind at the moment. One of the RIRs did take a couple of pecks and challenged momma... a BIG chicken fight ensued... and the RIR got her bum kicked (no injuries). Funny, as one of the WLs decided to give the RIR a bit of a shove afterward as well. I hope this is the last of it, though many are still outside taking dirt baths in the sun and haven't come in. Momma is significantly bigger than the others, so that's probably good! Baby can hide under the ramp if necessary, and there are mini feed/waterers.

Question: Momma usually sleeps perched, though. Will she stay on the floor with baby?

Probably, that's what Smokey did until the babies were three weeks old. Then they all got up in the nestbox to sleep. By 4 weeks they were up on the roost with Smokey.

 

[This_chicks_place]

 

[This_chicks_place]

oops

 

[amillecay]

I have two broody hens right now they both went broody on the 13th I had four eggs under one and was still unsure if the other one was broody for that day but she was on the nest the next day so turns out she was I ended up having some problems with the eggs four of them somehow got moved to a different nest! and some went missing but there is no snake or anything that I have known to get in the coop since i havn't had any eggs go missing except for now. Any way here they are I have moved the black one now and trying to work something else out for the Barred rock since I don't want the chicks to fall! Oh also these are my first two broodys!

 

[amillecay]

The Black star walks around like an airplane it's pretty funny